Well, I took the plunge and I'm now here in Adelaide, South Australia! Yup, I bought a one-way ticket, packed up all of my things (or gave away, threw out, donated, etc), and hopped on the plane overseas!
First of all, I must say this was one of my best flight experiences for such a long haul. I have often flown through LAX to get to New Zealand or Australia, but this time I chose to go through Vancouver so I could avoid those pesky customs line-ups in the US, as well as not have to pick up my luggage just to drop it off on the other side of the door. I can only say, I wish I'd flown through Vancouver the whole time! What a beautiful airport, AND what beautiful views while flying there! Now Vancouver is on my list of places to visit... hahaha, figures that I'd leave the country and then decide to visit more places in it... oh well!
The flight tfrom Vancouver to Auckland was long: 13 hours. However, having done similar flights (in length I mean) I can't complain too much about this one! I got to switch to a bulkhead row, with no one next to me (I had the window, some other fella had the aisle), and my lovely displaced tailbone wasn't nearly as grumpy as it has been in the past! I'd like to credit my wonderful intern at the Bronte Chiropractic Clinic Ashley with my relief :) I managed to sleep 3 or 4 hours, watch a few movies, and before I knew it I was in Auckland again! Hurray!
Auckland Airport is probably one of my most favourite airports (Heathrow though is definitely up there, while Mumbai is quite low... ask mum about that one!). Not only do they post constant updates of your upcoming flight, but they also have the most entertaining announcements when a passenger is late getting to a gate. It's something like this, "Flight NZ791 is paging passenger Smith. Please make your way to gate 7. All other passengers are on the plane waiting for you. The unloading stage has begun." Oh yeah, and all of that is done with a Kiwi accent. So amusing - as long as YOU'RE not the late guest I suppose!
So one more short 5 hour flight to Adelaide and I had arrived! I even had the added bonus of receiving all of my checked baggage. For those of you that don't know, I have a history of losing my baggage on long-haul flights. I've lost a big camping backpack on the way to London (and had it burned on the way home, but that's another story), lost my bag on the way to Zambia (coming from Mumbai/London), and also lost my bag when flying to Auckland. Hmmm, now that I think of it, every time I lost my bag I was headed on a Habitat build... interesting.... Anyways, my large duffel bag, my suitcase, AND my guitar all made it safely. I passed customs and security with flying colours (even though I admit I had a wee bit of loose-leaf tea in my mug... thanks for the tea Steph, it was yummy!), and made my way to the exit.
My cousin Elizabeth had told me that she would be there to pick me up, and she'd have bells on. I should let you all know... she's mum's niece, so that should give you a tip to what my welcome was like! Sure enough, she was at the bottom of the exit, with a huge Canadian flag open, and shaking a big bundle of bells (think Christmas) in her hand, jumping up and down. WHAT A WELCOME! Haha! Made me laugh (and maybe I shed a couple of tears, though it was hard to tell whether they were tears or just because my eyes were so dry... I'm going to guess dry eyes :D). She captured my first photo of my new life in Australia, took me home with a quick pit stop to see Laura, and after a short nap to get back on track I'm happy to say I'm ready and rearing to go! Must also say, 10C isn't too bad for a winter ;)
I do have a little to do list though, since this isn't just a vacation, and I do actually have to be productive down here. So, here's my to-do list for the next few weeks (prior to my exam in Sydney):
- register for a tax file number (I actually did that online this morning around 4am... since I woke up at 2am.... whoops!)
- open a bank account (looks like Commenwealth is going to be the winner!)
- buy a mobile phone
- study for my skills recognition exam (July 25-27 in Sydney)
- look into my Australian Driver's license
- look for a job (something to do before I can start practicing down here!)
I guess we'll see how I do with the whole blog thing, as this is my very first time trying this out, and we ALL know how much I like to talk! Haha, will work on making this concise in the future :s
Love you and miss all of you fellow Canuckers I've left in the nice warm sun.
Denise
